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Clear information gives confidence and control

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Created on Thursday, 31 March 2011 13:18

‘Self-help’ and ‘do-it-yourself’ kits can be ideal, particularly in times when money is tight. But any kit is only effective if the result is reliable.

The recent Which? comparison of self-test kits demonstrates the varying quality and clarity of instructions and information. Without access to a health-care professional, the user is left with only the information in front of them. The experts who provided feedback on the kits said that the main problems lay with missing and unclear information. What isn’t said is often as important as what is said. And what is said needs to be clear and understandable the first time it is read.

Plain English at Halfords

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Created on Thursday, 10 March 2011 10:52

Plain English Campaign welcomes a rare opportunity to applaud the motoring industry today when Halfords Autocentres launch their plain English ‘Glossary of garage speak'. This is the first guide of its kind in the motor industry to receive a Crystal Mark from Plain English Campaign.

The guide is a direct result of research carried out for the independent garage network. The research showed a high level of confusion linked to mechanical jargon and highlighted the need for simple and unpatronising language when dealing with motorists.

Gobbledygook on the BBC

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Created on Friday, 04 March 2011 13:09

On Monday 7 March at 7.30pm, BBC Inside Out East Midlands will be full of gobbledygook and jargon as BBC presenter John Holmes travels to Derbyshire for an update on the story of Plain English Campaign.

Big steps to overcome the small print

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Created on Thursday, 03 March 2011 11:40

Plain English Campaign are applauding the consumer contracts team at the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the regulatory body for traders throughout the UK. The OFT's year-long study of unclear terms and conditions in consumer contracts covered a range of customer complaints about things such as contracts for gym membership and the small print involved in buying football clubs’ season tickets.

The findings from this year-long study revealed some new information, such as consumers being put off by the length of long-winded contracts. However, it confirmed our well-known fears about the unfairness of small print.

Power points for comparison

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Created on Friday, 18 February 2011 14:02

Plain English Campaign continue to fight for clearer information in energy bills. We were pleased to support the comparison website, www.uswitch.com, when they asked for our review of yearly energy statements. These statements are a regulatory requirement, laid down by Ofgem, for all energy providers to provide an individual statement to their customers that shows the customer's consumption and costs over the past 12 months. But the results of the uSwitch public survey show that some energy companies have been slow to meet this regulation, and those that are meeting it could do with improving the clarity of the statements.

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